Slain man identified

Police have identified a man found slain at a Finley Boulevard gas station early this morning as 55-year-old James Valentine.

Police were called to a gas station on the 1500 block of Finley Boulevard at about 3:15 a.m. and found Valentine lying in the parking lot, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, said Lt Henry Irby, spokesman for the Birmingham Police Department. Paramedics arrived at the scene and pronounced him dead.

Valentine's death is the 48th homicide of the year, matching last year's total at this date.